Walk behind lawn mowers are simply machines that you have to stand behind to operate. You must push them along the grass in order for them to cut the grass terrain. The other type of cutter is the sit on mower type, but these are generally highly expensive compared with regular common walk behind models. Unless you have a huge property of half an acre or more, then a walk behind mower will serve you well.
There are several types of walk behind lawn mowers. These include:
Power Reel Mower
Push reel mowers
Electric mowers
Cordless mowers
Gas mowers
Push reel mowers are manual mowers that are very quiet and powered by you only. There are no motors or batteries; they are the type of mowers that were originally used decades ago except today models are much better built and work more efficiently. The big plus about a push reel mower is that they cause no pollution. The maximum grass height that a push reel mower is effective on is around 2.5 inches. These types of walk behind lawn mowers were some of the first used to mow lawns.
Electric mowers have to be plugged in to gain the power they need. Therefore they are really only useful on smaller properties as you must be near a power outlet and/or have an extension cable handy. Naturally you will want to avoid running over the cord or tangling yourself up.
Electric mowers also come in a cordless design which costs more but is obviously much more convenient and less dangerous. They run on batteries (usually 1 to 4 12 volt batteries). The battery capacity will determine the power of the cordless mower and how long it lasts on a charge. If you have a large yard then a cordless electronic is not suitable but it is useful for most suburban blocks.
Gas mowers are of course the most common mower nowadays but more and more people are turning toward manual mowers like push reel as they are quiet, don't pollute and don't smell.